Wireless interactive gaming system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for playing a wagering game uses a wireless gaming device including an identification code, entry apparatus for entering wagering information by a player, and a transmitter. A receiver receives the identification code and the wagering information transmitted by the transmitter of the wireless gaming device. The receiver polls the wireless gaming device to determine whether the player has entered wagering information to be transmitted to the receiver.

This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/844,794, filedApr. 22, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an interactive gaming system, and inparticular, a system which is operated by a wireless gaming device.

A typical casino-type game involves making a wager that a particulargaming event will occur, e.g., that a particular element from a set ofnumbers will be selected. In such a game, the payout or monetary prizeawarded to a winning player usually depends on the amount of theplayer's wager and the probability that the event will occur.

Various games have been developed that require or, permit interactionbetween the game and the game's players in a gaming or casinoenvironment. Such interaction should be simple and uninhibited from theplayers' point of view, and cost effective for the gaming establishment.Since wagers and prizes can reach up to hundreds of thousands of dollarsfor many casino-type wagering games, players must have confidence in theintegrity and reliability of such an interactive gaming system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, in one aspect, the invention features system for playing awagering game. A wireless gaming device includes an identification code,entry apparatus for entering wagering information by a player, and atransmitter. A receiver receives the identification code and thewagering information transmitted by the transmitter of the wirelessgaming device. The receiver polls the wireless gaming device todetermine whether the player has entered wagering information to betransmitted to the receiver.

Implementations of the invention may also include one or more of thefollowing features. The receiver may periodically poll the wirelessgaming device. The wagering information may relate to a wager request,or may include a command or data. The wagering information may include astring of characters, which may be hexademical digits. The transmissionmay be by radio frequency signals or infrared signals.

The wireless gaming device may be a hand-held device. The entryapparatus may include keys or a smart card reader. The wireless gamingdevice may also include a wager amount register and an account balanceregister.

The wireless gaming device may include a liquid crystal display. Thewireless gaming device may include a bicolor light emitting diode toindicate separately that the wagering information has been entered bythe player and that the wagering information has been transmitted by thetransmitter.

The system may also include a processor in communication with thereceiver for processing the wagering information transmitted by thewireless gaming device based on the identification code. The processormay include a database for storing an account of the player.

The wireless gaming device may include an electronically programmableread only memory for storing an identifier corresponding to theidentification code. The system may include an encryption key to encryptthe identification code and the wagering information prior totransmission and to decrypt the identification code and the wageringinformation after being received by the receiver.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method ofplaying a wagering game using a wireless gaming device. The wirelessgaming device includes an identification code, entry apparatus forentering wagering information by a player, and a transmitter. Thewagering information is entered into the entry apparatus. The wirelessgaming device is polled to determine whether the player has enteredwagering information to be transmitted by the transmitter. Theidentification code and the wagering information are then transmitted.

Implementations of the invention may also include one or more of thefollowing features. The wireless gaming device may be polledperiodically. The wagering information may be displayed on the wirelessgaming device. The identification code and the wagering information maybe transmitted by radio frequency signals or infrared signals. Thewagering information may be processed based on the identification code.The identification code and the wagering information may be encryptedprior to transmission.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a wireless gamingdevice for transmitting wagering information to a receiver. A memorystores an identification code. Entry apparatus is used for entering thewagering information. A transmitter converts the identification code andthe wagering information into a signal for wireless transmission to thereceiver, the transmitter transmitting the signal when the receiverpolls the wireless gaming device to determine that the wageringinformation has been entered.

Implementations of the invention may also include one or more of thefollowing features. The wireless gaming device may be periodicallypolled by the receiver. The identification code may be stored in thememory in a digital format. The wireless gaming device may be ahand-held device. The entry apparatus may include keys or a smart cardreader. The wireless transmission may be by radio frequency signals orinfrared signals.

The interactive gaming system of the present invention has the advantageof providing players with a simple and straightforward way to placewagers in a gaming environment.

The interactive gaming system of the present invention has theadditional advantage of allowing players to place wagers in a gamingenvironment using a wireless gaming device.

The interactive gaming system of the present invention has theadditional advantage that players can obtain confirmations of wagers andprizes while they are playing the game.

The interactive gaming system of the present invention has the furtheradvantage of providing a system in which the total cost of thecomponents of the system is low. This advantage is particularlyimportant where a large number of players must be able to interact withthe same game. For example, for a typical lottery game, players maynumber in the tens to hundreds of thousands.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch of an interactive gaming system of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic sketch of the wireless gaming device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sketch of the receiver of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sketch of the central processor of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a chart showing the impact of various wagering activities on aplayer's account.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic sketch of the terminal of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of an account balance display ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing how a player establishes an account toplay a game with a wireless gaming device.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing how a player places a wager using awireless gaming device.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing how a player closes an accountassociated with a wireless gaming device.

FIGS. 11A and 111B are diagrams showing the format of character stringsfor messages sent by the central processor and the wireless gamingdevice, respectively.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing how the central processor communicateswith the wireless gaming device.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing how the wireless gaming device receivesand relays player requests to the central processor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless interactive gaming system 10 includes oneor more wireless gaming devices 20 . . . 20 a, a receiver 30, and acentral processor 40. Wireless interactive gaming system 10 may alsoinclude a terminal 50 which is in communication with central processor40.

In a gaming environment that employs system 10, a player receiveswireless gaming device 20 from a game officiant who represents a gamingestablishment or the “house”. Wireless gaming device 20 is capable ofreceiving wager information as commands entered by the player andtransmitting the received wager information along with identificationinformation to receiver 30 by wireless transmission.

System 10 preferably supports up to 20 or more wireless gaming deviceswithin one gaming establishment. The range for the wireless transmissionfrom wireless gaming device 20 should be up to 100 feet. The systemshould also operate with a 99% success rate without having to reenterany commands on wireless gaming device 20, and the response time shouldbe less than 750 ms between entry of the command to transmission by thedevice. Wireless gaming device 20 should also be able to share thegaming environment with other remote control devices and should toleratetypical ambient light conditions, including indirect sunlight and lightemitted by video game machines.

FIG. 2 shows the components of wireless gaming a device 20. Device 20may be any size apparatus that includes these components. Device 20 ispreferably a hand-held device that can be carried by a player throughoutthe gaming establishment, and may also be ergonomically designed for theplayer's comfort. Device 20 is preferably sufficiently robust towithstand ordinary casino environment stresses, i.e., the device isimpact, water and tamper resistant.

A player inputs information into wireless gaming device 20, e.g., bypressing push buttons or keys 22 on device 20. Device 20 may include anynumber, e.g. from 5 to 20, of buttons 22 in a keypad-type arrangement.Buttons 22 may be marked with the digits 0 through 9 and may alsoinclude a “$” (dollar sign) key and an “enter” key, so that the playermay easily input wager information. Preferably, device 20 includes atleast eight player selection buttons (e.g., digits) and at least fivespecial function buttons, (e.g., to request the player's balance).Alternately, the player can input some or all of the wager informationinto device 20 by swiping a smart card 24, which contains amicroprocessor chip or a magnetic stripe with encoded information,through a smart card reader 26 on device 20.

Wireless gaming device 20 may include an identifier 28. Identifier 28may be, e.g., a series of alphanumeric characters, a bar code, or amagnetic stripe affixed to device 20. Alternately, identifier 28 may bea digital code stored in a secure memory, e.g., an electronicallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) 34. Identifier 28 isthus readable directly by the game officiant if it is a series ofalphanumeric characters, or it may be read automatically by a bar codereader 56 or a magnetic stripe reader 58. Alternatively, identifier 28may be programmed in EEPROM 34 or read from EEPROM 34 through an RS-232port 84, which may be directly connected to encoder and decodercircuitry 82 in terminal 50 (FIG. 6).

Wireless gaming device 20 may store an encryption key 32. Encryption key32 is used to encrypt information that is transmitted to receiver 30from device 20. Encryption of the information transmitted to receiver 30limits tampering with device 20 and prevents unauthorized or counterfeitdevices from being used with system 10.

Encryption key 32 is preferably stored in EEPROM 34. EEPROM 34 has theadvantage of being a memory device which is difficult to access if theappropriate encoding circuitry is not available. Thus, it iscontemplated that the encoding circuitry that downloads encryption key32 into device 20 will be securely held by the game officiant.

Alternately, encryption key 32 stored in EEPROM 34 may be updated andchanged for each player who receives wireless gaming device 20 bydirectly connecting device 20 to encoding and decoding circuitry 82 interminal 50 through port 84 at the time device 20 is delivered to theplayer (FIG. 6). Moreover, other digital information related to the gamebeing played may be downloaded from terminal 50 to EEPROM 34 through thedirect connection with device 20.

A microprocessor 36 controls the operation of wireless gaming device 20.Microprocessor 36 receives digital wager information 39 entered by theplayer using buttons or keys 22. Microprocessor 32 stores anidentification code 38 associated with device 20 that is a digitalequivalent of identifier 28. Microprocessor 32 also executes softwareapplications for encrypting identification code 38 and the player'swager information 39 for transmission to receiver 30. The softwarecontains an algorithm that encrypts a data packet includingidentification code 38 and wager information 39 using encryption key 32.

Wireless gaming device 20 preferably has a unique address, i.e.identification code, for communications with receiver 30 and stores aplayer identification that is programmed into the device by the centralprocessor 40. Wireless gaming device 20 preferably includes a wageramount register 90, which is maintained and updated using the keys onthe device. The value stored in wager amount register 90 may be includedin transmissions from the device to central processor 40. The value ofwager amount register 90 should default to a predetermined value, e.g.$1, when the device is initialized, and can be further adjusted by theplayer. Wireless gaming device 20 also preferably includes an accountbalance register 92, which is maintained in the device and is updated bycentral processor 40 periodically. The value of account balance register92 should default to $0 when the device is initialized.

Wireless gaming device 20 preferably includes player function keys 94.Player function keys 94 may be used to accomplish the followingfunctions:

-   -   1. Transmit a message to receiver 30;    -   2. Request account balance information;    -   3. Adjust the state of the device;    -   4. Affect the data to be sent in the next transmitted message;    -   5. Increment the wager amount register by a predetermined        amount, e.g., $10, $5 or $1;    -   6. Reset the wager amount register to the default value, e.g.,        $1.        The firmware of wireless gaming device 20 should only allow for        one press of buttons or keys 22 every 100 ms. Key presses should        not be queued; thus, when a key press message is queued to be        sent, no other player input should be accepted until the queued        message has been sent.

Wireless gaming device 20 includes a transmitter 42. Transmitter 42receives encrypted digital information from microprocessor 36 andconverts it to a signal for wireless transmission to receiver 30.Transmitter 42 transmits signals wirelessly, e.g., using radio frequencysignals or infrared signals. Communications between receiver 30 andwireless gaming device 20 may be asynchronous at 2400 bits 25 persecond. Various techniques for such cordless transmission of signals areknown.

Wireless gaming device 20 may include an identifying circuit 44 thatdrives transmitter 42 to periodically send an identification signal toreceiver 30. The use of identifying circuit 44 permits receiver 30 andcentral processor 40 to be assured that device 20 is still active,functioning and present in the gaming establishment. Thus, if device 20were removed from the gaming establishment, receiver 30 and centralprocessor 40 would no longer receive and detect the periodicidentification signal sent by identifying circuit 44 and transmitter 42,and the game officiant may be alerted that device 20 has been removedfrom the gaming establishment.

Wireless gaming device 20 may contain a real-time clock 46 that permitsmicroprocessor 36 to monitor the current time and date. Clock 46 mayconsist of a timing circuit. Microprocessor 36 can use the time and dateinformation obtained from clock 46 to perform calculations and otherfunctions based on the current time and date.

Wireless gaming device 20 may also include a tag 48, such as anelectronic or magnetic component, which activates an alarm when passedthrough a sensing apparatus located at the entrance and/or exit of thegaming establishment. Activation of the alarm by passing device 20 withtag 48 through the sensing apparatus notifies the game officiant of anattempted removal of device 20 from the gaming establishment.

Wireless gaming device 20 may be powered by a battery source 52contained within device 20. A portable power source such as batterysource 52 permits extended cordless operation of device 20 throughout agaming environment. Battery source 52 may be part of a removable,rechargeable battery pack that allows device 20 to be recharged when itis not in use.

In one embodiment, wireless gaming device 20 displays information suchas game information on a device display 21, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) with a back-light. The LCD can be used to display thevalues stored in wager amount register 90 and account balance register92. Device 20 may include a display receiver 23 which receives digitalinformation transmitted from receiver 30 or from central processor 40.

Device 20 may also include a bicolor light emitting diode (LED) 25.Bicolor LED 25 is capable of displaying at least two colors, e.g., redand green. The green light may flash each time wireless gaming device 20sends a transmission to receiver 30, for a period of time to ensure thatit is visible to the player. The red light may illuminate when a key ispressed on wireless gaming device 10, and remain lit until thetransmission is received by receiver 30; no additional key entry will beenabled when the red light is lit. Device 20 may also include additionallight emitting diodes (not shown), for example to indicate when accountbalance register 92 is being updated and the balance information isbeing displayed on the LCD.

Receiver 30 is capable of receiving signals transmitted from transmitter42 in device 20. As shown in FIG. 3, receiver 30 contains a decoder 54,which converts the received signals, e.g., into digital information.This digital information contains at least identification code 38 andthe player's wager information 39. Receiver 30 sends the digitalinformation obtained by decoder 54 to central processor 40.Communications between central processor 40 and receiver 30 may be by anRS-232 electrical interface data serial communications link, withcommunications being asynchronous at either 9600 or 19,200 bytes persecond.

Receiver 30 can receive signals from many wireless devices eithersimultaneously or in rapid succession, e.g., using multiplexingtechniques, so that many players can place wagers using their wirelessgaming devices 20 during a short time interval. Receiver 30differentiates signals received from the various devices by theidentification codes which are present in the signals received byreceiver 30.

Central processor 40 receives identification code 38 and the player'swager information 39 from receiver 30. Central processor 40 alsodecrypts this information using encryption key 32. Central processor 40is capable of receiving data from multiple wireless gaming devices in anapparently simultaneous manner.

As shown in FIG. 4, an account for the player is stored in a database 64of central processor 40. Database 64 stores the monetary value of thebalance of the account associated with identifier 28 of wireless gamingdevice 20.

Central processor 40 manages the player's account in database-64 basedon signals received from the player's wireless gaming device 20 as theplayer places wagers and when prizes are awarded during play of thegame. Central processor 40 subtracts money from the player's accountbalance when the player places a wager. The player's account balance maybe automatically increased by central processor 40 when the player winsa game on which he has placed a wager.

Central processor 40 also stores and is capable of executing softwareapplications containing algorithms to calculate players' accountbalances, wagers, and winnings. Central processor 40 should be able toexecute all of the algorithms which define the actions performed on theplayers' accounts during the progress of the game, as wagers areentered, as winnings paid out, and when funds are added to the players'accounts.

Algorithms in the software in central processor 40 may also calculateodds and payouts for certain games, such as lottery-type games, duringplay of the game. The odds and payouts at a particular point in time maydepend on the characteristics of the game being conducted by centralprocessor 40, and may change as the game progresses. These algorithmsmay be executed by central processor 40 to provide exact calculations ofthe odds of specific game events occurring and the associated prizes fora player's correctly predicting the occurrence of one of those events.The algorithms may be executed continuously, so that real-time odds andpayout can be calculated as the game progresses.

FIG. 5 shows the actions that may be performed on players' accounts bycentral processor 40, and their impact on the accounts. For example, ifthe player wins a game, his account is credited for the payout based onhis wager. If the player places a wager using wireless gaming device,his account is debited by the amount of the wager. If the game officiantreceives additional fimds from the player, the balance of the player'saccount is credited by the amount of the funds. If the game officiantcloses the player's account and disburses funds to him, the balance ofthe player's account is debited by the amount disbursed.

Central processor 40 may be located in the gaming establishment thathouses receiver 30. Alternately, central processor 40 may be locatedremotely from receiver 30, communicating with receiver 30 via electronicdigital telephone communication or wireless transmission, such as aserial communication link. Additionally, central processor 40 mayperform a multitude of functions for various receivers in a variety ofgaming environments.

In one embodiment, communication among central processor 40, receiver30, and wireless gaming device 20 involves a polling scheme. Pollingenables many wireless gaming devices to communicate with a receiverwithout interference between them. Such a polling scheme may include thetransmission of digital signals in the form of strings of hexadecimalcharacters. Preferably, all communications between central processor 40,receiver 30 and wireless gaming device 20 are encrypted.

In such a polling scheme, hexadecimal characters may be reserved forspecific control protocols. For example, an attention character is aheader character used to begin all transmissions from central processor40 to receiver 30, and serves to delineate messages and synchronize thereceipt of 10 messages in the receiver. The same function is impliedwhen the attention character follows in response to a messagetransmission. An acknowledgement character is another header characterwhich provides acknowledgement to the transmitting device that theprevious message's data has been received and verified. Theacknowledgement character can also function as an attention character tobegin a subsequent message. An end of message character is used toindicate the end of a transmission. Also, a complement next bytecharacter allows for use of reserved protocol characters within a normaltransmission message by avoiding a false control signal when a messagedata byte matches one of the control characters. When a message bytethat needs to be sent matches one of the protocol control characters,the complement next byte character is sent, followed by the one'scomplement of the matching message byte.

Verification of received data may be accomplished using a single bytechecksum of the message information. This checksum may be the one'scomplement of the sum of the original message data, not including theheader character. If the checksum results in a value equal to one of theprotocol control characters, it will be treated in accordance with thefunction of the complement next byte character.

In the polling scheme described above, there are three different modesof communication over the link between central processor 40 and receiver30. First, central processor 40 may send messages intended for receiver30. Second, central processor 40 may send messages intended for wirelessgaming device 20. Third, wireless gaming device 20 may send messagesintended for central processor 40. As shown in FIG. 11A, messages sentby central processor 40 may be in the form of a character string 300formatted with a header character 304, followed by the identificationcode of the intended device 306, the command or message 308, an end ofmessage character 310, and a checksum character 312. Messages receivedby receiver 30 or wireless gaming device 20 may be acknowledged bytransmission of an acknowledgement character, but central processor 40need not acknowledge messages sent from the wireless gaming devices.Messages sent by the central processor to be received by wireless gamingdevice 20 may be broadcast to all of the wireless gaming devices. Adevice address may be reserved as a broadcast address for all of thewireless gaming devices, and all devices will receive messages sent tothis address; in this case, no acknowledgement need be returned from anyof the wireless gaming devices.

Each command or message may begin with a command code to signal how theinformation contained in the message is to be used. Command codes formessages sent by central processor 40 to receiver 30 and wireless gamingdevice 20 include the following:

-   -   1. Send a device address list to the receiver;    -   2. Send account balance information to the addressed device;    -   3. Send command to disable the addressed device;    -   4. Send command to enable the addressed device.

As shown in FIG. 11B, messages sent between receiver 30 and wirelessgaming device 20 may be in the form of a character string 302 formattedwith a header character 304, followed by the identification code of theintended device 306, the current wager amount 314, the request, commandor data 316, an end of message character 310, and a checksum character312. Command codes for requests, commands and data sent between receiver30 and wireless gaming device include the following:

-   -   1. Reader user identification;    -   2. Read device address;    -   3. Read balance register;    -   4. Read wager amount register;    -   5. Provide device status;    -   6. Write user identification;    -   7. Write device address;    -   8. Write balance register;    -   9. Write wager amount;    -   10. Perform self test.        These command codes may be used to program the device addresses        and user identification information into the wireless gaming        devices, as well as to initialize the device to the default        state, i.e., the player's account balance of $0. The account        balance register and the user identification may each comprise        two characters, the least significant byte and the most        significant byte, allowing the use a greater range of numbers        for these values.

FIG. 12 shows how central processor 40 communicates with wireless gamingdevice 20. Central processor 40 transmits a string of hexadecimalcharacters (step 202), including, e.g., a header character, followed bythe device's identification code, followed by a request, command ordata, followed by an end of message character, followed by a checksumcharacter. After central processor 40 transmits the character string,wireless gaming device 20 receives the string (step 204), recognizes itsidentification code (step 206), and executes any instructions in thestring (step 208). When central processor 40 sends an instruction to allwireless gaming devices simultaneously, all currently active devicesreceive and execute the instruction. Wireless gaming device 20 does notsend an acknowledgement message to central processor 40, althoughreceiver 30 may receive a transmission from device 20 that theinstruction was received properly. Central processor 40 alsocommunicates with receiver 30 in a similar manner, except that receiver30 may send an acknowledgement message to central processor 40 whichincludes the acknowledgement control protocol character.

Similarly, wireless gaming device 20 communicates with receiver 30 andcentral processor 40 using, e.g., hexadecimal character strings.Receiver 30 regularly and periodically polls the active wireless gamingdevice 20 for information requests or wagering requests. If the playerhas entered a request into device 20 since the last time device 20 waspolled, then the player's request will be transmitted to receiver 30.

FIG. 13 shows how wireless gaming device 20 receives and relays playerrequests to central processor 40. First, the player enters a requestinto device 20 using buttons or keys 22 (step 222). The player thenpresses a button labeled, e.g., “enter” or “send,” instructing device 20to send the request the next time receiver 30 polls device 20 (step224). When this button has been pressed, the red light of bicolor LED 25is illuminated (step 226), thereby informing the player that the requestis waiting to be sent. The request is converted into a hexadecimalcharacter string (step 228), including, e.g., a header character, anidentification code (or, alternatively, a separate identification stringreserved for a specific player), the current wager amount, the player'srequest (e.g., to change the wager amount or to send a balance update),an end of message character, and a checksum character. The next timereceiver 30 polls device 20 (step 230), the transmitter of devicetransmits the character string to receiver 30 (step 232). When device 20is polled by receiver 30, the green light of bicolor LED 25 flashes(step 234), informing the player that the request has been transmitted.Receiver 30 receives the request string (step 236), and transmits thestring to central processor (step 238). Central processor then acts-onthe player's request (step 240).

Using terminal 50, the game officiant may process wagering transactionsand distribute wireless gaming devices such as wireless gaming device20. As shown in FIG. 6, terminal 50 may include a bar code reader 56and/or a magnetic stripe reader 58 for rapid entry of the identifier 28of device 20 prior to delivering device 20 to the player. Readingdevices 56 and 58 provides information in the form of digital data toterminal 50. Terminal 50 includes a keyboard 62 by which the gameofficiant can manually enter data to be sent to central processor 40.Using either reading device 56 or 58, keyboard 62, or a combination ofthese, the game officiant communicates with central processor 40 toestablish a player's account, increase the balance of the account whenthe player tenders finds to the game officiant, and decrease the balanceof the account when the player seeks to collect the cash value of hisaccount balance.

The player establishes a balance of the account associated with hiswireless gaming device 20, identified by identifier 28, when he receivesdevice 20 from the game officiant. The player may increase the monetaryvalue of the balance of the account by paying additional fimds, in theform of cash or credit, to the game officiant, who accesses the accountstored in central processor 40 through terminal 50 to increase thebalance of the account.

Device 20 is returned to the game officiant after the player has playedone or more games. Readers 56 and 58 may be used to read identifier 28for closing out the player's account stored in database 64 of centralprocessor 40. Terminal 50 includes a terminal display 68 which notifiesthe game officiant of the balance of the player's account, so that theplayer may be paid the cash value of the remaining balance of hisaccount.

In one embodiment, an account status display device 70 is located in thegaming establishment to display a players' account information. As shownin FIG. 7, display device 70 may be, e.g., a liquid crystal display or acathode ray tube display. Display device 70 is controlled by centralprocessor 40, which sends information to display device 70 for displayto the players.

A player may look at display device 70 to confirm that wagerstransmitted from wireless gaming device 20 were received by receiver 30and sent to central processor 40, to determine the monetary balance ofthe player's account, and to verify that the player's winnings have beencredited to his account. Display device 70 displays key informationnecessary for a player to participate in a game. The informationdisplayed for each player may include the account number (whichcorresponds to identifier 28), the player's account balance, theplayer's last wager, and the player's last prize award or win.

Display device 70 is divided into specific areas, e.g., display area 72,each area showing the account information for one player. The size ofdisplay area 72 may be determined by the size of display device 70 andthe number of players who possess wireless display devices. It iscontemplated that only active accounts will be displayed on displaydevice 70. If additional display devices are required to display theinformation concerning a large number of accounts, central processor 40may be configured to drive multiple similar display devices.

Display device 70 may also be used to display the odds 74 and payouts 76for game wagers. Alternately, a separate display device driven bycentral processor 40 may be used to display the odds 74 and payout 76information. Further, the odds 74 and payouts 76 may be displayed ondevice display 21 (FIG. 2).

FIGS. 8 through 10 show an exemplary procedure 100 for using wirelessinteractive gaming system 10. As seen in FIG. 8, a player tenders moneyin the form of cash or credit, e.g., $100, to a game officiant in thegaming establishment to establish an account (step 102). The gameofficiant chooses a wireless gaming device 20 and uses, e.g., bar codereader 56 on terminal 50 to enter identifier 28 into terminal 50 (step104). The game officiant also inputs the amount of money tendered, i.e.$100, into terminal 50 via keyboard 62 (step 106). The game officianthands wireless gaming device 20 to the player and tells the player thathis account is, e.g., Account No. 12 (step 108). Alternately, the playermay identify his account number directly from identifier 28 on device20. The information entered by the game officiant into terminal 50 issent to central processor 40 (step 110), which establishes an accountrecord for the player in database 64 (step 112).

For this example, central processor 40 may be conducting a racing gamein which players choose a winning racing element on which to place awager for the next racing game to be displayed in the gamingestablishment. To place a wager, the player presses buttons 22 onwireless gaming device 20 (step 120), as shown in FIG. 9.

In one embodiment, the player first presses the button that correspondsto the number assigned to the racing element that he chooses, e.g., “3”,and then the wager amount, e.g., “$” and “5”, for a $5 wager. The playerthen presses the “enter” key to transmit his wager to central processor40.

In an alternate embodiment, the game may be simplified so that allwagers are placed for a fixed amount; e.g., $1, by pressing a singlebutton on wireless gaming device 20. By pressing the button thatcorresponds to the number assigned to the chosen racing element, e.g.,“3”, the player places a $1 bet on racing element number 3. The playercan then place a larger wager on racing element number 3, by pressingthe “3” button the number of times corresponding to the number of $1bets he desires to make, e.g., by pressing “3” five times to wager $5 onracing element number 3.

Each time the player enters a wager, wireless gaming device 20 forms adata packet containing the player's wager information 39 andidentification code 38 of device 20 (step 122). The data packet isencrypted (step 124) and transmitted by transmitter 42 via wirelesscommunication (step 126).

Decoder 54 in receiver 30 receives the encrypted data packet transmittedby transmitter 42 (step 128). The encrypted data packet is sent tocentral processor 40 (step 130), where it is decrypted (step 132).Central processor 40 uses the information it has obtains to update theplayer's account in database 64 by subtracting the wagered amount fromthe player's account balance (step 134) and registers the player's wageron the game (step 136).

After the game has been played, central processor 40 awards prizes towinning players based on the wagers they have made and the oddsassociated with the winning outcome of the game (step 138). If theplayer in possession of wireless gaming device 20 is a winner, centralcomputer 40 updates the player's account in database 64 by adding themonetary amount of the prize to the player's account balance (step 140).Otherwise, the player's account remains unchanged (step 142).

The player may repeat steps 120-142 to place wagers on subsequent gamesplayed in the gaming establishment (step 144). Moreover, the player maycheck on his account balance and the amount of his wagers by referringto display device 70 or device display 21 (step 146).

As shown in FIG. 10, when the player has finished playing games in thegaming establishment, he returns wireless gaming device 20 to the gameofficiant (step 160). The game officiant again inputs identifier 28 intoterminal 50, e.g., by using bar code reader 56 (step 162). Terminal 50accesses the player's account information stored in database 64 ofcentral processor 40 to obtain the player's remaining account balance(step 164). Terminal display 68 displays the player's remaining accountbalance to the game officiant (step 166), who then tenders the monetaryvalue of that amount to the player (step 168). The account is closed,and the transaction is recorded in central processor 40 (step 170).

1. A system for playing a wagering game, comprising: a wireless gamingdevice comprising an identification code, entry apparatus for enteringwagering information by a player, and a transmitter; a receiver forreceiving the identification code and the wagering informationtransmitted by the transmitter of the wireless gaming device, thereceiver polling the wireless gaming device to determine whether theplayer has entered wagering information to be transmitted to thereceiver.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver periodicallypolls the wireless gaming device.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein thewagering information relates to a wager request.
 4. The system of claim1 wherein the wagering information includes a command.
 5. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the wagering information includes data.
 6. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the wagering information comprises a string ofcharacters.
 7. The system of claim 6 wherein the characters 2 arehexademical digits.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless gamingdevice is a hand-held device.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein the entryapparatus comprises keys.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the entryapparatus comprises a smart card reader.
 11. The system of claim 1wherein the wireless gaming device further comprises a wager amountregister.
 12. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless gaming devicefurther comprises an account balance register.
 13. The system of claim 1wherein the wireless gaming device further comprises a liquid crystaldisplay.
 14. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless gaming devicefurther comprises a bicolor light emitting diode to indicate separatelythat the wagering information has been entered by the player and thatthe wagering information has been transmitted by the transmitter. 15.The system of claim 1 wherein the transmission is by radio frequencysignals.
 16. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmission is byinfrared signals.
 17. The system of claim 1 further comprising aprocessor in communication with the receiver for processing the wageringinformation transmitted by the wireless gaming device based on theidentification code.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the processorfurther comprises a database for storing an account of the player. 19.The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless gaming device furthercomprises an electronically programmable read only memory for storing anidentifier corresponding to the identification code.
 20. The system ofclaim 1 further comprising an encryption key to encrypt theidentification code and the wagering information prior to transmissionand to decrypt the identification code and the wagering informationafter being received by the receiver.
 21. A method of playing a wageringgame using a wireless gaming device, comprising: providing the wirelessgaming device comprising an identification code, entry apparatus forentering wagering information by a player, and a transmitter; enteringthe wagering information into the entry apparatus; polling the wirelessgaming device to determine whether the player has entered wageringinformation to be transmitted by the transmitter; and transmitting theidentification code and the wagering information.
 22. The method ofclaim 21 wherein the wireless gaming device is polled periodically. 23.The method of claim 21 further comprising displaying the wageringinformation on the wireless gaming device.
 24. The method of claim 21wherein the identification code and the wagering information aretransmitted by radio frequency signals.
 25. The method of claim 21wherein the identification code and the wagering information aretransmitted by infrared signals.
 26. The method of claim 21 furthercomprising processing the wagering information transmitted by thewireless gaming device based on the identification code.
 27. The methodof claim 21 further comprising encrypting the identification code andthe wagering information prior to transmission.
 28. A wireless gamingdevice for transmitting 2 wagering information to a receiver,comprising: a memory for storing an identification code; entry apparatusfor entering the wagering information; a transmitter for converting theidentification code and the wagering information into a signal forwireless transmission to the receiver, the transmitter transmitting thesignal when the receiver polls the wireless gaming device to determinethat the wagering information has entered.
 29. The wireless gamingdevice of claim 28 wherein the wireless gaming device is periodicallypolled by the receiver.
 30. The wireless gaming device of claim 28wherein the identification code is stored in the memory in a digitalformat.
 31. The wireless gaming device of claim 28 wherein the wirelessgaming device is a hand-held device.
 32. The wireless gaming device ofclaim 28 wherein the entry apparatus comprises keys.
 33. The wirelessgaming device of claim 28 wherein, the entry apparatus comprises a smartcard reader.
 34. The wireless gaming device of claim 28 wherein thewireless transmission is by radio frequency signals.
 35. The wirelessgaming device of claim 28 wherein the wireless transmission is byinfrared signals.